ASSESSMENT TASK 2: CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES

Assignment Task 2 - Instructions

Purpose:

To assess the knowledge on epidemiological approach for investigating a disease or health outcome

To determine the skills to calculate basic epidemiological measures.

To assess the skills to evaluate biases involved in an epidemiological study.

To evaluate the ability of the students to apply their knowledge and skills to criticize an epidemiological study.

Total word count:

3000 words (±10%)

Due date- 12/05/24

Description:

1. Review the following two articles:
2. a)    Rahman, M. A., Hoque, N., Alif, S. M., Salehin, M., Islam, S. M. S., Banik, B., . . . Cross, W. (2020). Factors associated with psychological distress, fear and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Global Health, 16(1), 95. doi:10.1186/s12992-020-00624-w
3. b)    Cai, Q., Feng, H., Huang, J., Wang, M., Wang, Q., Lu, X., . . . Liu, Y. (2020). The mental health of frontline and non-frontline medical workers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China: A case-control study. J Affect Disord, 275, 210-215. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2020.06.031
4. Then follow the assessment task-2 template to complete your assessment. The task includes the following components individually for each of your two selected articles:
5. Research question:Outline the research question in the structured PICOT format. (100-150 words)
6. Study design:Was the selected study design appropriate to answer the research question? Justify your answer. (600-700 words)
7. Identification of biases:Identify at least 5 biases from each selected two studies and explain those. Explain whether those biases were addressed in the studies and the potential implications on the findings presented. (1200-1400 words)
8. Interpretation of results:Explain at least 5 key findings based on the analyses from the logistic regression (odds ratio/relative risk, adjusted odds ratio/relative risk and 95% confidence intervals). (600-700 words)
9. Temporal relationship:Using the specific Hill’s criteria for causation, explain at least the 5 key findings of associations from the selected studies. (600-700 words)

Further instructions:

You must use the supplied template for your assessment.

Follow the word counts for each question as indicated

Total word count is 3,000 (±10%) words excluding the words of this template, which is approximately 416 words

Expand the explanation boxes as needed in the template.

You must provide in-text references, which must be listed at the end of the template following APA7 reference style.

Marking criteria:

Please, follow the marking rubric for Assessment Task 2.

Feedback:

Your assessment will be assessed by the tutor and feedback will be provided via Turnitin within two weeks of the submission due dates.

Preparation:

Students should devote at least 24 hours for this assessment.

Submission details:Please submit your assessment via Turnitin. Please, check the due date for submission.

ASSESSMENT TASK-2

CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES

Instructions

• You must use this template for your assessment
• Follow the word counts as indicated
• This template contains approximately 416 words
• Expand the explanation boxes as needed
• You must provide in-text references, which needs to be listed at the end of this template following APA7 reference style
• Assessment must be submitted at TurnitIn

Selected articles for critical appraisal

1. Article-1: Rahman, M. A., Hoque, N., Alif, S. M., Salehin, M., Islam, S. M. S., Banik, B., . . . Cross, W. (2020). Factors associated with psychological distress, fear and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Global Health, 16(1), 95. doi:10.1186/s12992-020-00624-w
2. Article-2: Cai, Q., Feng, H., Huang, J., Wang, M., Wang, Q., Lu, X., . . . Liu, Y. (2020). The mental health of frontline and non-frontline medical workers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China: A case-control study. J Affect Disord, 275, 210-215. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2020.06.031 

1. Research question

Article-1: Outline the research question in the structured PICOT format (50-75 words)

Article-2: Outline the research question in the structured PICOT format (50-75 words)

1. Study design

Article-1: Was the selected study design appropriate to answer the research question? Provide justification for your answer. (300-350 words)

Article-2: Was the selected study design appropriate to answer the research question? Provide justification for your answer. (300-350 words)

1. Identification of biases

• Article-1: (a) Identify at least 5 biases and explain those. (b) Explain whether those biases were addressed in the studies. (c) What’s the potential implications on the findings presented? (600-700 words)

• Article-2: (a) Identify at least 5 biases and explain those. (b) Explain whether those biases were addressed in the studies. (c) What’s the potential implications on the findings presented? (600-700 words)

1. Interpretation of results

• Article-1: Explain at least 5 key findings based on the analyses from the logistic regression (odds ratio/relative risk, adjusted odds ratio/relative risk and 95% confidence intervals). (300-350 words

• Article-2: Explain at least 5 key findings based on the analyses from the logistic regression (odds ratio/relative risk, adjusted odds ratio/relative risk and 95% confidence intervals). (300-350 words)

1. Temporal relationship

• Article-1: Using the specific Hill’s criteria for causation, explain at least the 5 key findings of associations from the selected study (300-350 words)
• Article-2: Using the specific Hill’s criteria for causation, explain at least the 5 key findings of associations from the selected study (300-350 words)